


Goodbye

by romanogersassemble



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-06 02:51:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18842125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanogersassemble/pseuds/romanogersassemble
Summary: Our girl, Natasha Romanoff, didn't get a funeral in Avengers: Endgame. So here's my take on what should have happen.





	Goodbye

“See you in a minute.”  
Natasha’s words echoed in everyone’s mind as their eyes finally landed on the empty space beside Clint.  
Tears streamed down Clint’s face as everyone looked to him for answers.  
“She- She’s gone.”  
Banner sunk to his knees; his sobs flowing freely. Tears pricked at everyone’s eyes. One common thought connected each of them. Her sacrifice would be remembered. They would make sure of that.  
Steve tried to remain collected and be the rock for the others, but tears streamed down his face. After a collective moment of shock, he excused himself from the group. He sprinted toward the sleeping quarters. The door to Nat’s room was open, and he stumbled in and closed the door behind him. His legs wobbled. His body drained of strength. He sunk to his knees, back sliding down the door. Sobs racked his entire body.  
His best friend gone. No goodbye. No closure. He expected to come back to see her smirking at him with something sarcastic to say. 

His heart couldn’t take it. First, Bucky. Now, Nat.  
What kinda sick, cosmic joke was being played on him? 

Steve crawled to her bed which was still a little disheveled from the night before and sat on the edge with his head in his hands. The tears would stop eventually, but his heart would always be broken.  
A soft knock quelled his crying for a moment. Tony stood in the doorway, sniffling.  
“Come in.” Steve whispered.  
Tony sat down on the end of Steve’s bed with his head in his hands. Both men took comfort in the company and also the silence.  
The first words out of Steve’s mouth were, “We need to have a funeral”.  
Tony nodded. “It’s the least we can do. Is there any family we need to notify?”  
More tears streaked down Steve’s face. She was his family, and he was hers. The Avengers had become more than just a team for both of them.  
“We were her family.” Tony sniffled, obviously trying to stifle a sob.  
After a moment, Tony rose from his spot and disappeared.  
Steve collected himself and stared at the room around him. He stood in what was once her room. Part of him felt like he was violating her privacy, but she was gone now.

Her room was exactly as she had left it. When he closed his eyes, he could almost feel her presence beside him, where she always was. He tried to remember every moment they shared.  
The scent of her perfume still lingered in the air and overwhelmed his senses. The scent sent him back to the day when they were on the run from HYDRA. The smell of her perfume and the sensation of her lips touching his overwhelmed his senses the same then as it did in the present. The memory was so vivid it almost felt like she kissed him again. Tears trickled through his closed eyelashes.  
“You weren’t supposed to die, Nat.” He whispered.  
He could almost imagine her quipping with her signature smirk, “Well, you said ‘Whatever it takes’, Rogers.”  
He cursed himself. “I can’t believe I didn’t see what was right in front of me the whole time. You were always there. Always following me into battle even if the odds were against us.”  
Steve pulled himself from a daydream of her still milling around her room in the mornings or rummaging through her dresser trying to find clothes before a mission. 

He searched the room for a memento of some kind. He wanted something to keep with him and also something for her funeral. The glint of metal caught his eyes. She had a spare tactical suit in her closet. His eyes landed on the Widow symbol. He pulled it free from the belt and pocketed it.  
He milled around the room looking for something for himself. As he flitted through old papers in her bedside table, he found a photo of the two of them. A photo he had never seen before. 

They were at one of Tony’s parties. He remembered the party, but he didn’t know anyone had taken a photo of them.  
They sat close together, and Natasha seemed to be talking animatedly to him with a rare full smile on her face. He tried to remember what she had said in that moment, but he drew a blank. He flipped the photo over, and there was writing, but it wasn’t Natasha’s. “You both deserve happiness. -Tony”  
Steve blinked back tears. Did everyone know except them?  
He slid the photo into his jacket and gathered the rest of the team.

Steve set the Widow symbol in the middle of the team.  
“If anyone has anything they want to say, go right ahead.”  
Silence fell between the team, but Tony was the first to speak up.  
“She was the best of us. She always did everything in her power to do the right thing. Maybe she aired on the grey ambiguous side, but everything was always for everyone else. She was so brave. Never afraid.” His voice trailed off as he stifled his tears.  
Next, Bruce.“I can’t believe she’s gone.” He couldn’t get much more out before the tears choked his words.  
Clint cleared his throat in attempt to say a few things, but after a moment, he shook his head. Silent tears streamed down his face.  
After everyone had their turn to speak, Steve pulled out the photo and looked at it. A few words weren't enough to encapsulate what she meant to everyone. He tried to think of how to best remember and memorialize her.  
“She died a hero.” He let out a shaky breath. “Natasha spent the last 5 years keeping us together. Pushing everyone to try and bring everyone back. She is the reason we are here right now. She was the heart and soul of this team. The glue that held us together. She took care of all of us. We owe it to her to kick Thanos’s ass.”  
Tony let out a weak chuckle. Tears trickled down Steve’s face as he smiled weakly at Tony.  
Steve glanced around the room, making eye contact with everyone. His eyes fluttered down to the picture of them in his hand.  
“Her death will not be in vain. We will avenge her.”


End file.
